The North American International Auto Show is one of our favorite events of the year. It's a time when just about every carmaker descends on Detroit, and the moment is a golden one. Picture it with us: gleaming steeds -- SUVs, sports cars, sedans, pickups and more -- as far as the eye can see, a field that's tough to whittle down to our favorites. But we've done just that with these ten beauties, the best of NAIAS.

Just about every car manufacturer has had its "car of shame" at one point or another. The names are easily recognizeable and are usually followed by a full-body cringe: AMC Gremlin, Renault Fuego, Chevy Citation, Oldsmobile Achieva, Volkswagen Fox, Geo Metro, Nissan Pulsar, Cadillac Cimarron, Pontiac Aztek, Ford Festiva, Chrysler PT Cruiser. To our everlasting chagrin, many of the cars we'd rather not have driven have come from right here in America. But things have been improving. Improving a lot, in fact. American cars today are better built and better designed at just about every level, and they're even competitive with once out-of-reach European performance cars.

A performance SUV is something tantamount to a chainsaw with jet propulsion. There's really no need for it, but to dismiss it is to deny man's inherent quest for power, in whatever form it may come. Gear Patrol's wheeled staff had a chance to cruise around in some of the best four-wheeled tarmac eaters that just happen to ride on stilts in celebration of Octane's launch. Here's what they thought.

Family sedans tend to be the automotive equivalent of Valium (minivans are horse tranquilizers, in case you were wondering), but times have changed. Family men no longer need to sacrifice too much in the way of driving excitement and looks in order to transport tykes and trikes. We get it. You'd rather be doing some tire ripping, engine-snorting performance runs on your way to drop off your son at school. Still, we've compiled our list of "family sedans" that take let you perform your dad duties with aplomb while still allowing you more than a modicum of manly fun.

No longer the poor man's Rolls, the 2012 Chrysler 300 S (yes, the one in all those "imported from Detroit" ads) is no longer the big bruiser of yore. Though absolutely sinister in black, Chrysler has sent the 300 to